What is the meaning of "or their women or what their right hands possess" in the verse of Surat An-Nur regarding the non-display of adornment, and does "their women" include Muslim women but not polytheistic women, and free women along with female slaves (Muslim or polytheistic), and does "what their right hands possess" include male and female slaves such that they have the same ruling regarding the display of adornment?
The majority of scholars, including jurists and exegetes, interpret the verse: "(or their women)" (Quran 24:31) as referring to Muslim women. They justify this by stating that this interpretation prevents the exposure of adornment to non-Muslim women who might describe Muslim women to their husbands. Some of them believe that the intended meaning is women in general, and that the pronoun is used for verbal congruence. Jurists have differed regarding the permissibility of non-Muslim women looking at what a Muslim woman reveals, with the majority prohibiting the display of adornment to a non-Muslim woman.
Therefore, the pronoun in "(or their women)" refers to the women of the believers, whether free or enslaved, who are specifically associated with them. As for idolatrous slave women, they fall under the verse: "(or what their right hands possess)." As for male slaves, they are like strangers, and it is not permissible for a Muslim woman to display her adornment to them, even if they are Muslims. The summary of the majority opinion is that a Muslim woman should not display her adornment to a non-Muslim woman unless she is her slave, and she should not display it to her male slave who is a stranger to her.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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